“This means that the trans-Pennine route could be Britain’s first digitally controlled intercity main line railway,” the transport secretary said.

“My goal is simple. I want to put the passenger first, and use the newest, best, smartest technology to disrupt their lives as little as possible.”

Grayling also used the opportunity to defend the government’s scrapping of some electrification plans in the North.

He said extra tracks are being added to the Midland Main Line. Signalling is being improved and hybrid trains will run on it. There will be electrification on “those parts of the route where it will make the biggest difference,” he said.

“We will reduce the journey time from London to Sheffield by up to 20 minutes in the peak.”

He went on to say: “But then if you want to electrify the whole route, every inch of the way, it will cost the taxpayer nearly a billion pounds more than our current plan and it will save one extra minute on the journey time to Sheffield.

Have your say

Please remember that the submission of any material is governed by our Terms and Conditions and by submitting material you confirm your agreement to these Terms and Conditions. Please note comments made online may also be published in the print edition of New Civil Engineer. Links may be included in your comments but HTML is not permitted.

A subscription to New Civil Engineer...

...offers in-depth analysis of the news that matters, interviews and commentary
from leading industry players and special reports on key events, it’s the resource that helps you make better business decisions.